Halibut, Take One!
Pan-Seared Halibut with Spaghetti Squash in a Roasted Garlic & Lemon Cream sauce and Sauteed Pea Shoots and Walnuts
I stopped by the City fish company yesterday in Pikes Place Market in Downtown Seattle to chill after work and pick up a sexy pound of freshly caught halibut. EEEEE.
I purchased a few vegetables – lemons, pea shoots and spaghetti squash – from Uwajimaya earlier this week and I’ve been trying to get through it all before they lose their freshness too. YAY for keeping a waste-free (well, not FREE) kitchen!
For the spaghetti squash, I poked holes with a fork all around it and popped it in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the flesh was tender. I let it cool for a bit and gently pulled the flesh from the rind and put it in a bowl to be set aside. It’s such a pretty yellow color!
The roasted garlic lemon cream sauce was made in two parts. I first cut the top of an entire head of garlic (so that the cloves are exposed but still connected to the bottom root), added olive oil and sea salt and wrapped it tightly in aluminum foil to bake with the squash (about 1 hour). I then took the head of garlic and squeezed it into 2 cups of half-and-half in a pot, along with Kosher salt and the zest and juice of 2 lemons. I let the pot simmer for about 15 minutes until it was a nice and creamy consistency.
The halibut was a relatively easier preparation: unwrapped, dried off with paper towels, dressed with salt and freshly cracked pepper and then gently laid onto a preheated pan with good-quality butter and canola oil. Once one side was golden brown, I gently flipped the pieces over and popped it in the oven (still set at 375) for a few minutes until cooked completely. The result is a firm whitefish with the most luxurious and creamy texture.
Plating on the other hand, was not so easy. I originally envisioned the halibut to be set on TOP of the squash with the pea shoots as the top layer, so that the guest could pull all the ingredients with one downward motion with a fork. Sexy. As I’ve only worked with 2 oz. halibut portions before in a commercial setting, I misjudged the delicacy of a larger portion of fish. It wouldn’t be able to “drape” on the squash elegantly, so I decided to place it at its side. LOL, at this point Liana and I were starving, so I gave up and snapped a picture right before we ate. OOPS! I’ll try harder next time. LOL.
Looking at it again, I could say that the light and tender texture of the spaghetti squash with the creaminess from the sauce, the tartness from the lemons, the bold and sweet roasted garlic and the crunch from the roasted walnut pieces could have stood on their own as a single dish – a light “first course” if you will. I think it’d be a delicious soup too! If I were to incorporate the fish again, I’d portion then in 2 oz. pieces and lay them over the squash and under the pea shoots – just like before.
Oh well, like I said before, it’s not pretty as my previous efforts… but it was honestly one of the best things that I’ve cooked all year. Thanks to Ryan for letting me bounce ideas off his head. WHAT WHAT FISHING CHEF WHAT WHAT. lol.
EEE Halibut! 
~Spec
April 29th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
while I like the longstrips of halibut, that “belly” piece cooks a little differently. I find that a more square piece works slightly better. As for your plating issue’s you either trade height and make a better base that offers more support or do the 2 oz pillards and then shingle them. Did that 1/2 and 1/2 really tighten up? Also I noticed that You didn’t dust your Halibut with flour first. I really like the effect that a lite dusting gives you. Plus it keeps it from sticking and stops you fish from looking like a dog chawed on the ends. Peace The One and Only!
May 12th, 2008 at 12:09 am
i heart pea shoots!!!